Episode 4: Opposing Force
Opposing Force is the fourth episode of the first season in Dragon Booster. It first aired in the US on November 13, 2004. It was then aired in Canada on November 16, 2004 and in Australia on March 10, 2005. Plot Summary The episode begins with a thief (who the audience may recognize is actually part of the Dragon Eye Crew) riding a Bull-class dragon whilst wearing gear from the Grip of the Dragon Crew, making a getaway after breaking into a bank, but being stopped by the Dragon Booster, who ends up being distracted by helping a civilian. After Parmon has problems with his gear and giving Artha directions, and Lance trying to help but being told to stay put, the Dragon Booster eventually catches up with the last known location of the thief, heading down some city air ducts. Grip of the Dragon crew gear is found lying in the tunnels, the audience realises this is most likely left behind by the thief, despite Artha not knowing where it came from. Artha realises now that the tunnels have lead him to the Downcity Council Round Table, where he listens in on the on-going argument. During the discussions, tensions are high between Phistus and Moordryd Paynn. Suddenly, the thief from before walks in, unknown to the Down City crews as having been involved in the recent robbery, and brings forth news that Phistus and his crew are responsible for the recent spate of crimes occurring. Moordryd holds his handheld transceiver up which plays a section of the latest news, saying that the robber was clearly identified as a member of the Grip of the Dragon crew. Claiming that Phistus has disgraced the council, Moordryd challenges his leadership right through a battle of Dragon Joust. Not paying attention, Artha slips on a loose pipe and falls in front of all the crews, who aren’t too happy to see him. Beau breaks through the wall, mags Artha back onto his saddle and the pair take off. Artha is now practicing defensive and manoeuvring skills in the training grounds of the ancient temple, hidden under Penn Stables. He joins Parmon and Mortis in discussion about recent events when he finishes, and Parmon points out that Phistus is the best at Dragon Jousting (being the all-time City champion). Mortis points out that even if Moordryd beats Phistus, someone else can make a challenge on that same day; Mortis pushes Artha to train even harder now for events to come. Moordryd is seen now at his father’s citadel, and Word reveals his latest creation; a combination of mind control and invisibility gear has been used to create the Wraith Dragon. The scene cuts back to Artha training, with Lance playing with his toy jousting set. Artha asks Mortis to cut him some slack, but Mortis points out that Artha needs to learn how to get through hardships, and pushes him on. Just as the jousting match is now about to begin, Cain signals from the distance to Moordryd that the Wraith dragon is all set and ready to go. The first round begins, and the Wraith is made to crash into Brutaris, throwing Phistus off and allowing Moordryd to win. The second round proceeds in a similar manner, with Phistus this time even losing his jousting staff, and Moordryd is announced the winner. Dragon Booster now steps forward to challenge Moordryd’s leadership, and Moordryd accepts although adds a clause; the winner takes the loser’s dragon. Before the round starts, Parmon spots the Wraith dragon on his binocs, utilizing heat detection, but naturally none of them know or understand what is going on, and Artha ends up losing the first round just as Phistus did. After fixing his binocs, Parmon can see the dragon on the track and quickly realises it’s being controlled remotely. By connecting the binoc’s frequency modulator to his vid control transmitter, he aims to send out a signal on every available frequency in order to disrupt the wireless transmitter that allows for the control of the Wraith. Parmon forgot an important aspect though, in that the vid control transmitter range is not powerful enough to cover a decent area; Lance makes up for this by adding his toy jousting control antenna to the control transmitter, and allows Parmon to fulfil his plan; this time Dragon Booster wins the round. With Word watching the scene below him, he notices the Wraith dragon is down, and Moordryd and Cain proceed to argue about what’s happening. Lance then spots that Cain is the one controlling the Wraith with a controller of his own; just as Parmon’s creation breaks again. Artha is hit again in the next round, but just hangs on. About to fall, Lance shouts the words that Mortis had said to him, saying to never give up, and he swings back onto his saddle, glowing with a green light. The next round starts with Parmon still unable to fix his machine; Lance grabs his controller from the set, and uses his toy jousting dragon to drive over Cain’s feet, making him drop his controller. The controller smashes and the Wraith loses its invisibility on the track; Artha is again knocked to the ground but this time it doesn’t count, as everyone saw the Wraith push him over. Word and Cain quickly disappear, Moordryd claims he’s never seen that dragon in his life but the judge decrees that he was cheating, and awards the victory to Dragon Booster. Artha is quick to point out though, that Phistus was cheated too, and so hands over leadership of the Council back to him. In outrage, Moordryd points out that all this started because one of Phitus’s crew members was involved in a bank heist. Dragon Booster then holds up the Grip of the Dragon crew gear jacket that the thief had left behind at the start of the episode, showing Phistus’s crew symbol, then peeling back the crew symbol sticker to reveal the Dragon Eye crew symbol beneath it. Moordryd slinks away and honour is restored to Phistus and his crew. The scene ends with Artha back at the crew tents with Parmon and Lance, thanking them for their help; Lance then realises his toy dragon is still at the jousting area. Moordryd and Cain are seen at the jousting area, trying to figure out what went wrong, when somebody (presumably Lance behind the scenes), drives Lance’s toy jousting dragon over Moordryd’s feet. Important Events *Phistus and his crew are introduced, along with The Downcity Council of Twelve. *Dragon Joust is introduced, as well as Lance’s toy version that later makes sporadic appearances. *The Wraith Dragon is first created. Quotes & Trivia *“If there is one lesson you must learn, it is to know the true meaning of heart and to never give up.” - Mortis to Artha. **This quote is later re-said near the end of the episode as Artha is stubborn in not letting himself be defeated. As he pulls himself up, he glows with a green light- this is likely the Green Draconium within the Gold that activates and helps him discover the nature of being stubborn and to never give up, a quality that people under Green Draconium influence are known for. This idea is reinforced by Phistus' comment, as it's in this moment he decides that the Dragon Booster is indeed good and worthy. *“It’s not how big you are Lance Penn, it’s the size of your heart that matters. And when I see you, I see courage as big as a mountain” - Mortis to Lance. This quote could be a reference of future events in Episode 17: Faster Than Fear where Lance is the only one courageous enough to break through the illusions of the Shadow Track. Gallery Joust_gear.png|Moordryd in jousting gear. Toy_joust2.png|Lance's jousting dragon toy ramming Parmon's foot. Wraith_drag.png|First appearance of the Wraith dragon. Wraith_drag2.png|Word equipped with Wraith dragon control gear. Video Category:Episodes